Different
by EbonyWells
Summary: Daryl and Carol are together in this. He depends on her and she depends on him. But they're nothing more than friends, so he doesn't care if Tyreese wants her... Does he?
1. Chapter 1

**So I was trying to type the next chapter to **_**Wishing, **_**I am just overwhelmed with the response to it, by the way. Thanks guys! Anyway, when I was in the middle of typing, this idea came to me and it just would not leave my mind. I'm not sure if I'm going to have it just be a One-Shot or not but, we'll see. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Carol stood in front of the makeshift stove and stirred the stew in the pot. She was the only one in the cafeteria, but she didn't mind. Between keeping watch with Daryl, taking care of the new Woodbury citizens and helping with Judith duty, this was the only time she got to herself. It was just her and her thoughts…

That's when she heard the door open and heavy footsteps made their way through the doorway and across the room, stopping behind her. She didn't even have to turn around, she knew who the footsteps belonged to.

"Hello, Tyreese." She continued stirring the spoon in the pot and kept her back to him.

"Hello, Carol." She heard the smile in his voice as he took a position by her. "Need help with anything?" Tyreese was always offering to help out, and it was nice. He definitely pulled his weight around here. Looking over into the pot of squirrel stew, courtesy of Daryl, she felt the hot steam hit her face and quickly pulled back, slightly coughing into her arm.

Once she had regained herself, she laughed a little and looked over at Tyreese. "If you could grab some bowls for me, that'd be great." As he turned his back to walk over to the cabinetry, Carol called after him. "Only enough for our group. Maggie said she took care of Woodbury earlier." Bringing her attention back to the now ready stew, she smiled a little as Tyreese returned beside her and placed enough bowls for their small group neatly in a line on a table beside them.

"Do you have watch duty tonight?" He asked her as she scooped stew into the bowls.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Back still facing him, she heard him clear his throat. Normally, Tyreese took watches after her with Sasha, or Rick. Tyreese and the former sheriff seemed to become good friends. Well, as good of friends they could be after Rick's meltdown a few months back when his group had first shown up.

"I was wondering if you had any interest in keeping watch together tonight. Sasha is my sister, and I love her, but when I share a cell with her, sometimes we just need some space, you know? And there's only so much talk of Carl and police jokes that I don't get, I can stand." Setting the now empty pot on the table, Carol turned to face him and handed him two bowls; smiling.

"Sure! I usually head out right after dinner is finished. So, go on and eat dinner with Sasha, and I'll meet you up at the north watch tower." With a slight smile, Tyreese walked out of the room, grasping onto the two bowls of stew.

"Dinners ready!" Carol shouted out the door and out to the main area. She returned back to her spot beside the table as the group started to walk in, hungry and anxious. Handing off bowls of stew, she noticed Daryl hadn't showed up. Maggie must've caught her wondering eye.

"He's outside by the fences. Clearing off a few walkers, I think." Carol smiled and thanked the younger woman before walking outside, holding a bowl for Daryl. She spotted him over by the far-side of the fences and slowly walked up beside him.

"Hey." She softly smiled and handed him the bowl.

"Thanks." He mumbled and took the bowl and dug in. Studying him, she leaned her back against the fence.

"Everything okay, Daryl?" Ever since Merle's death, he had become closer to her. She was normally the only one he ever opened up to. They now shared a cell, only because there wasn't much room for them and the Woodbury citizens. He only nodded as some stew dripped down into his scruff and Carol chuckled.

"Here, you got some-" Laughing, she took the back of her thumb and wiped it off. Daryl only stood still as she took her hand away and returned to her position against the fence. "I've got watch tonight, so I'm going to apologize ahead of time if I wake you up when I come in." Daryl drank the rest of the stew and placed his back against the fence beside her.

"Ya' gonn' be by yourself? I could watch wit' ya' if ye' wanted." Pushing herself off the fence, she took Daryl's now empty bowl and stood in front of him.

"Tyreese offered to keep watch with me, tonight. You need to get some rest." His shoulders seemed to tense up at the mention of Tyreese and he stood up himself, towering over Carol.

"Well, have fun wit' Tyreese. I wont be up when ye' get back." And with that, he adjusted the crossbow on his shoulder and went inside.

* * *

Daryl lie on his back and stared at the ceiling of his and Carol's cell.

_Carol. _

Carol was on watch with Tyreese. Why the hell did she want to be on watch with him? Tyreese always had watch with his sister or Rick. Daryl had seen Tyreese staring at Carol, and he seemed to hang around her and help her with almost everything she did. He wondered what they could be doing up there.

Talking. Laughing. Kissing…

Daryl groaned and shook his head as he turned to face the wall. They were just keeping watch. For walkers. That was it. It's not like they used the guard tower like Maggie and Glenn did. Or, did they? Fuck. Daryl quickly sat up on the top bunk and huffed. Why was he thinking about this?

Yeah, sure, he cared for Carol, but as a friend. She was real sweet and helped out a lot with the group. She was real easy to talk to and she had those gorgeous blue eyes that could detect whenever Daryl was upset or angry. And those lips, man those lips.

He had caught himself wanting to kiss them on multiple occasions.

Putting his head in his hands, he sighed heavily. Didn't matter now, she was romancing with Tyreese. But he didn't care who Carol was with.

Did he?

* * *

Leaning against the railing of the catwalk outside the watchtower, Carol adjusted the rifle on her back and listened to Tyreese's story of when him and Sasha were young. He was definitely a lot more talkative than Daryl ever was with her, and she really liked the conversation.

"So, Sasha was a bit of a troublemaker, huh?" Carol chuckled as Tyreese set his forearms on the railing and looked out through the courtyard.

"Oh, yeah. She was always pulling pranks or breaking things and blaming them on big brother, here." He laughed, remembering these now, sacred moments. "She was a pain in my ass at the time, but what I wouldn't do to get things back to the way they were before." She looked over at him and nodded. She wouldn't want things _exactly _the way they were before, but she surely wanted her girl back. She had finished mourning a long time ago, but still thought about her and missed her everyday.

"My girl always did things like that, except she didn't have siblings. So her list of people to blame dwindled down pretty quickly." Tyreese was now turned to face her and a confused look spread across his face.

"Is Beth your girl? Wait, you and Hershel had a _thing?_" Carol laughed loudly once Tyreese made these allegations.

"Beth is _not_ my girl. And I can assure you, Hershel and I did not have a thing." Her tone become more sad once she began to tell him about Sophia. "No, my girl died about two… Two years ago." She said in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Carol gave him a watery smile and quickly shook her head.

"It's alright, you didn't know. As you can imagine, we don't talk about it much." Looking at the midnight sky, she sighed. "Suppose we should head back in and let Rick have his watch duty?" She turned to face him and was surprised to see his face right in front of hers. She studied the big man in front of her and could feel his breath hit her face.

This wasn't the man that she wanted this to be happening with. Tyreese was a friend. Daryl… Was just a friend. Probably the only thing he'd ever be. She felt her stomach in knots when she thought about how she'd never kiss Daryl, how she'd never feel the comfort of his arms.

She knew Tyreese wanted to kiss her, right then and there. Maybe she should let him. What would be the harm? She wouldn't have had to kiss him back. Unless, she wanted too.

Carol snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the gruff man plant a kiss on the corner of her lips. Smiling a little, she tilted her head to the side and yawned.

"I'll see you in the morning. Thanks for keeping me company tonight." He nodded at her and with that, she held the rifle by her side as she walked back to the prison.

* * *

Carol sighed as she walked into their cell and found Daryl, fast asleep. Setting the rifle down against the wall, she sat on the bottom bunk and started untying her boots. Once her boots were loose, she kicked them off and set them beside her bed. Standing up, she glanced up at Daryl, making sure he was asleep before shedding her shirt and looking through her basket of clothes for her nightshirt.

She nearly fell on her ass when she heard Daryl's voice.

"Jesus Christ!" She shouted and looked up at Daryl, who seemed to be staring at her white bra, which was barely being covered by her bunched up, maroon nightshirt she was holding in front of her chest. "I- I thought you were asleep." She felt so embarrassed, but wasn't able to move.

"Well, I wasn'." He took his eyes away from her bra and looked up at her blushing face. Biting his thumbnail, he lied back down and looked up at the ceiling. "How'd ye' watch go?" He asked, seeming oblivious to the fact she was half naked.

"F- Fine." She could hear the perplexed sound of her voice as she finally slipped the nightshirt on and took her pants off under. Looking down at the nightshirt, which stopped at her thigh, she silently lied down on her bunk. "I think Tyreese has a bit of a crush." Carol couldn't help but laugh when she said this.

"Oh yeah? On who?"

"Me." She covered herself with the thin blanket at the foot of her bed. "He kind of, kissed me. Not on the lips, though." Why was she telling Daryl this? She heard him adjust, as the weight of his bed shifted.

"Sounds fun." He mumbled. She felt a slight smirk come across her face as she sat on the edge of her bunk, blanket covering her legs.

"Do I hear jealously in your voice, Daryl Dixon?" She couldn't help but tease him.

"No."

"Whatever you say." She laughed as she stood up, and peered at him in his bunk. His back was facing her.

"I ain't fucking jealous!" He sat up with a sudden jerk and narrowed his eyes at her. "For all I care he coulda banged yer' brains out!" Carol grimaced and felt tears prick to her eyes as he yelled at her. He never yelled at her.

"I was just kidding." She lowered her voice and looked at him, sadness glazing over her eyes. She could see he felt bad, but there was something in his eyes she couldn't read.

"I know, aw hell. Sorry for shoutin' at ya. I just need to get some sleep." And without waiting for her reply, he turned his back to her once again. Wiping her eyes, Carol lied down in her bunk and stared at the wall for the rest of the night.

* * *

**K well, I don't think its going to be a one-shot, but its definitely not going to be a long story. Maybe three parts. And don't worry, things will get better for Carol and Daryl ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two, yay! Or chapter two. I don't even know. It's whatever you want to call it, I guess ;) I'm so glad you guys are liking this because I was so unsure about it. Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited or reviewed! I hope you enjoy this! It's the last part and thanks to anyone who has read this silly little thing. Sorry if it seems rushed, I'm working on WAY to many stories right now. Oh, and if smut isn't your thing, you might want to skip the ending.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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The scene from last night was stuck in Carol's mind all morning. It made her upset and she wasn't completely sure why. Maybe it was the fact that Daryl had yelled at her. He _never _yelled at her and the fact that he had made her feel awful about herself.

Sure, it had made her feel lousy when Ed yelled at her but it really made her more scared. But when Daryl yelled at her, God. It made her feel sad and just deep down awful inside. She barely spoke to anyone all day and had washed the dishes alone and in complete silence.

Now her and Michonne were killing Walkers through the fences. In silence, of course. The woman was never much for conversation, anyway. Normally it bothered Carol, but she didn't mind it today. She stabbed a walker with her knife and was nearly shocked when Michonne spoke.

"Somethin' bothering you today?" She asked in her low voice.

"I, um, no. I'm fine." Carol responded without much effort. She winced a bit because she could tell Michonne wasn't convinced.

"You aren't like you usually are, Carol." Michonne took her katana and swiftly put it through a Walkers head. "You and Daryl sounded like a married couple with that arguing and yelling last night." This caused Carol to laugh a little and then she stopped in mid-laugh when she processed Michonne's words.

"Wait, you heard the yelling last night?" She sighed heavily and turned to face the other woman, who was putting her katana back into its carrier that was slung around her shoulder.

"Well, it was pretty easy to hear from Rick's cell." Carol's mouth gaped open and for the first time she saw Michonne blush.

"Woah, hold up. _Why_ exactly were you in Rick's cell?" She was desperately hoping that it would take the attention off of her and Daryl's situation.

"Just, talking." Michonne shrugged off the question and started walking back to the prison, Carol beside her. "Anyway, why were you two arguing?" She asked once again. Carol nearly groaned out loud. So much for that distraction.

"I don't know, honestly." She sighed and wiped the blood off her knife and onto her pants. "Daryl was just grouchy, I guess." It wasn't a complete lie. He had overreacted over the fact that her and Tyreese had kept watch. And the fact that he had kissed her on the cheek. Why the hell did it bother him so much, anyways?

"Mhm. Then why are you so upset and quiet? You seem to be completely avoiding him."

"We're fine, Michonne! Really." She enjoyed it when Michonne didn't talk because when she did, she seemed to like to get into others business. "Just a little spat." Carol sighed and slid her knife into her carrier. Michonne just nodded and didn't ask anything else.

Carol made her way up the stairs, to her and Daryl's cell. She was hoping he wouldn't be in there. She really had been trying to avoid him as much as possible. Gosh, she never thought she'd be trying to avoid him. Usually she just wanted to spend all her time with him. He made her laugh and smile and feel happy. But now she was just feeling sad and kind of scared to be around him.

She walked into her cell, head down.

"Ye been avoidin' me all day?" She heard Daryl's gruff voice and immediately shot her head up. There he was, sitting on the top bunk, legs swinging off the side. He looked like such a child but had a serious face as he narrowed his eyes at her. She shook her head.

"I haven't been avoiding you." Carol lied and sat down on her bunk, untying the laces to her boots. Daryl's bare foot gently hit her on the side of the head, causing her to grin stupidly.

"Don't kick me, you brat." She chuckled wholeheartedly so he knew she was only teasing him and she kicked off her boots. He responded by gently kicking her, once more. "Stop." She laid back on her bed so he couldn't reach her anymore.

"Wha'? 'Fraid I'm gonna mess up your hair?" He laughed and Carol pushed his mattress up a little with her feet.

"Pfft. Even your hair is longer than mine. You need a haircut." She heard him laugh again.

"Why? You jealous of my long locks?" This is what she missed. Their goofy conversations. They both acted like children whenever they were together.

"You've got me all figured out, Dixon." She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. She quickly opened them once she heard Daryl jump off his bunk and kneel down beside hers. His face was only inches away from her.

"Ye didn't answer me. Why ya' been avoidin' me? Does my breath stink that bad?" He pulled his eyebrows into a frown and Carol couldn't help but laugh at his little joke.

"I haven't been avoiding you. Just, been busy." She hoped he would drop it, but had no such luck.

"Really? Cause this morning ye seemed to be avoidin' me. And looked so upset, like ya were gonna cry." Did their situation last night only upset her? Of course it did. Daryl had thick skin and didn't let anything get to him.

"Been busy." She repeated, trying to keep a strong voice but it was so hard to concentrate on what she was trying to say with his face right in front of hers. She studied his deep, blue eyes, that were nearly covered with his now, long bangs. Her eyes made their way down his face, past his nose and to his lips. His scruff surrounding them and his mole over the right side of his upper lip. She wondered how his lips would feel against hers…

"Wha'? Do I got somethin in my teeth?" His gruff voice brought Carol out of her thoughts and her eyes back up to his. She felt her face get red when she realized she had been staring at his lips for at least a full minute and he knew that she was. All he did was laugh as she blushed. She stuck her tongue out at him, like some sort of child and lied back down on her bunk. She had expected Daryl to leave, but he didn't.

"Ye' ain't answerin' me, woman." He growled, and sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

"I did to, Dixon. I told you, I've been busy." She refused to look at him. He was silent for a few moments and she thought he had left the room. But, the weight on the bed never shifted. So that meant he was still there.

"This is about last night, isn't it?" She finally looked over at him, feeling her eyes glazing over with tears. Finally. He was getting a clue. Carol nodded slightly, and refused to let herself cry in front of him. He sighed and adjusted himself.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know yer' ass was gonna come in here and strip in front of me." She felt her mouth gape open and she swatted his arm playfully, causing him to laugh.

"You jerk." Carol hit his arm again and any tears that were there before, had vanished. He could even make her laugh when she was upset because of him. She leaned back after hitting him and chuckled in disbelief. He looked at the red V-neck she had on and then raised his eyebrows, with a suggestive look on his face. She couldn't tell if he was kidding or not so she just kicked him in the butt.

"Damn Carol! Th' hell are ye' all abusive for? I should call th' damn cops!" He narrowed his eyes and tried his best to keep a straight face.

"The cop has arrived." The both looked over when they heard a voice in the doorway. Rick was standing there with a smug look on his face, but it quickly was replaced with a serious one. "Carol, I hate to ask because I know you took watch last night, but could you possibly take it tonight as well? Maggie isn't feeling well and Beth is with her all night so I have Judith and-" Carol put a hand, motioning for Rick to stop.

"It's no big deal. I'll take watch again." She smiled at him and saw relief rush over Rick's face.

"Thank you so much." He breathed out and rushed back to his cell, most likely where Judith was. She was still smiling until she looked over at Daryl, who looked un-amused.

"Ye' gonna leave me by myself, again?" He actually looked sad and she couldn't help but feel bad.

"You can come watch with me." She shrugged and studied him for a few more, long seconds.

"Yer' sure ya don' wanna keep watch wit' yer' friend, Tyreese?" Carol took the pillow she was clutching in her hands and hit him with it before standing up.

"Maybe I will take watch with him. He'll probably be nice to me." She teased and walked over and put a sweatshirt on over her shirt. It was oddly really cold tonight. When she turned back around, Daryl was loading his crossbow.

"Ready?" He slung the now loaded crossbow onto his shoulder and gave her a sideways glance. She only nodded slightly. For some reason, she felt nervous. She didn't know why. They had taken watch many times together before, but she felt like things were going to be different tonight.

* * *

They were both standing on the catwalk together. Carol had her arms resting on the railing and she was looking up at the dark, night sky. No stars shone and the moon stood out with bright light. She still had that nervous urge in her stomach, but she wasn't sure what was going to happen. Maybe something with Walkers. Or maybe something between them.

Carol quickly shook that thought out of her head and looked at the few lingering Walkers outside the fence. It appeared that nothing was going to happen with the Walkers. The silence between them seemed to scream and pierce her ears through the quiet air. It never bothered her whenever they didn't talk before, so she didn't understand why it was seeming to eat away at her. She heard Daryl clear his throat and looked over at him. Was he uncomfortable with the silence too? Surely he wasn't.

"I'm sorry." He said, unexpectedly. Carol pulled her brows into a frown and cocked her head to the side.

"What are you talking about?" He took a step closer to her, but refused to look at her.

"I know that you were upset because I yelled at you last night, and I'm sorry." All that time he knew what was bothering her? Well, it wasn't like she was doing a good job of hiding it. Carol just nodded slightly and kept her gaze on him, while his was still focused on something other than her. She hadn't realized how close he had gotten to her until he crouched down so he was at eye length with her.

"Do ya' forgive me?" His voice came out in a gruff whisper and she felt his breath hit her face. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest as he inched his face even closer. "Ye' gonna answer me, woman?"

"I forgive you." Her voice came out more high pitched then she had wanted, causing her to grimace. Once she opened her eyes again, she saw he was even closer to her and she had no clue what to think. Her breath seemed to hitch in her throat as he put his lips against hers.

_Finally._

He kissed her, slow and unsure. She kissed him back, just the same and she didn't know where to put her hands. They hung lazily by her sides, and then found their place on the sides of his neck. Daryl set his hands on her waist and pushed her against the railing, not even breaking the kiss. He slid his tongue against hers as a clap of thunder roared in the distance, causing her to jump back a little and the grip on her hips tightened. Daryl smirked.

"A little thunder scare ya?" She shrugged.

"Maybe." Rain started pouring down and she was thankful she had worn the sweatshirt. He crashed his lips to hers again and lifted her up off the railing. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but they had ended up on the floor of the catwalk and they were still kissing, but a lot rougher now. He moved away from her lips and playfully bit at her neck, causing her to groan. A million things raced through her mind. What was this going to do to their friendship? What was this? She cared for Daryl more than anything in the world, and she didn't want to lose him. But God, she just _wanted _him.

He pulled away enough to look at her. He was breathing heavily. "Ye' want to do this?" Her head was racing and she could feel her heart hammering against her chest. Surely he could feel it too. His chest was pressed up against hers.

"Yeah. I do." She nodded and slid one of her hands under his rain soaked shirt. He sat up on his knees and pulled his shirt off, throwing it onto the railing. He returned down to her and kissed her, passionately. The rain was now pouring hard and she felt herself shiver. He pulled away from her, long enough to take off her sweater and shirt and then immediately crushed her lips with his again. The raindrops hit her bare skin and he unclasped her bra, pushing the articles of clothing beside them. He kissed down her neck, leaving a wet trail on her collarbone and she moaned when he kissed down her bare chest, taking up raindrops as he did so. She just couldn't believe this was finally happened. She had wanted it for so long and when it seemed like it wouldn't happen, she used Tyreese as a distraction.

But there they were, on the catwalk, in the pouring rain. Half naked. She felt herself get even more cold and she realized he had just taken off her pants. She quickly warmed up as his hands roamed her body. She didn't know she was capable of such happiness and pleasure. Sex had always been a thing she cowered from, avoided. Ed made it his goal to purposely hurt her and so whenever she thought of sex, she thought of pain.

That wasn't the case at all as he pushed into her, and she arched her back, having a tight grip on his shoulders. Daryl moved slowly and surely. Both of his hands were placed on the floor of the catwalk, beside her head and he kissed her jaw line as he started to move faster.

This sent a jolt of warmth through her body, despite the pouring rain and a loud moan escaped her lips; the grip on his shoulders tightening even more. A loud clap of thunder had her pressing right up against his chest, taking on a whole new angle, causing her to whimper every time he moved. His arms went around her then and he kept the same pace.

"Faster." Carol whispered right beside his ear and he immediately responded, pushing into her deeper and thrusting faster. A groan escaped his lips and she trembled under him, pleasure coursing through her veins. Something was building up deep inside her as he kept the same pace and she moved with him. All at once, it exploded, sending signals through her whole body. She cried out his name as this happened and he gripped her sides tightly before coming to a stop.

Both of their breathing was heavy and rapid. He kissed her neck and she unwrapped her arms from around his neck as he pulled away and lied beside her. They both lied on the cold metal of the catwalk. It was still raining, but not nearly as hard. She was warm, despite the cold. Daryl chuckled quietly as he stood up, putting his rain soaked clothes back on and he tossed her, her own.

"Are you laughing at me?" Carol smiled instead of feeling embarrassed.

"Nah." He shook his head and watched her as she put her clothes back on and he wrapped his arms around her waist after she was done. He rested his chin on top of her head. "Jus' looks like I really did mess up yer' hair." She smiled to herself as she heard the rumble of laughter in his chest.

"I messed up yours, too. Maybe it's time for that haircut." Still smiling, she looked up at him and ran her fingers through his hair as he scoffed.

"Hell no. My locks are my only good quality." He smirked and she shook her head, laughing.

"Oh, shut up." And she kissed him again.

* * *

**Thanks For Reading!**


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